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Netanyahu Vows to Fight on as Criminal Charges Mount

Middle East In Focus&nbsp;

Middle East In Focus

Views from the Region

December 5, 2018

Not for the first time, Israeli police have apparently uncovered enough evidence to recommend charges against the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. This time the evidence points to a quid-pro-quo deal between Mr. Netanyahu and an Israeli telecommunications company, with the prime minister receiving favorable media coverage in exchange for rigging regulatory rules. The opposition and several observers have called for the immediate resignation of the prime minister. But Mr. Netanyahu has resisted calls to quit, attacking the police report and his detractors. Staying on as prime minister remains likely — a feat made easier by the lack of a credible alternative.

Calling it the “Netanyahu paradox,” David Horovitz opines in the pages of the Times of Israel on the support the prime minister enjoys from Israeli voters, despite his legal troubles: “Netanyahu remains Israelis’ preferred choice for prime minister, and the IDF’s northern border operation is likely only to underline that preference, because he is perceived as more capable than his rivals of keeping this country safe — of fending off our enemies without. But simultaneously, in his strategy for countering the bribery and related allegations against him, he deliberately foments division within, by undermining Israelis’ confidence in law enforcement and by challenging the rule of law.... A prime minister who has marshaled such careful judgment in keeping Israel relatively safe over the past decade in this treacherous and unpredictable region is acting cynically and irresponsibly with respect to Israel’s internal well-being.”

About MEPC

The Middle East Policy Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to contribute to American understanding of the political, economic and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East.